International Day Against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking: Theme, UNODC Report, India & The UN Initiative

Published: Saturday, June 25, 2022, 17:20 [IST]

Every year June 26 is observed as the "International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking" or "World Drug Day '' globally. The day is a symbol of various efforts being taken care of to strengthen actions and cooperation in achieving a drug free world.

World Drug Day started to be observed on June 26 since 1989. The celebration of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was approved under the resolution 42/112 passed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 7, 1987. Let's know about the current situation of drug abuse and what measures have been taken to fight with this evil globally.

Theme Of World Drug Day 2022

The Theme of 2022 is: "Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises"
The theme is decided to indicate the current situation of the world that is so devastating due to health and humanitarian crises. Whether it is about a pandemic like Covid-19 or wars like Russia-Ukraine, Afghanistan, the whole of humanity has been continuously facing a struggling period for survival.

On the occasion of World Drug Day United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is running the #CareInCrises campaign, through which it is calling on governments, international organisations, civil society, and all stakeholders to take urgent action to protect people, including by strengthening drug use prevention and treatment, and by tackling illicit drug supply.

What UNODC World Drug Report 2021 Reveals?

The report on illicit drug trafficking in the world was released by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in 2021 in Vienna. The report exposed some shocking revelations. The report was primarily focused on how pandemic worked as a catalyst to enhance drug trafficking among youths and unforeseen dangers of cannabis.

As per the findings of the report around 275 million people used drugs last year worldwide out of which over 36 million suffered from the drug use disorders.
The report also highlighted that in the last 24 years the potency of Cannabis has increased by as much as four times across the world. Which is an indication of threat.
Previously the origin of cannabis or marijuana used to be Central and South Asia.
Opioids continue to account for the largest burden of disease attributed to drug use.
Between 2010 to 2019 the number of people using drugs has increased by 22%.
The major psychoactive constituent in cannabis which is responsible for the development of mental health disorders, in the long-term is found as Δ9-THC.
In Asia, China and India are mainly linked to shipment of drugs sold on the 19 major darknet markets analysed over 2011-2020.
Internet and online sales have made the market of drugs simpler than ever. The market of drugs has reached $315 million worth annually on the dark web.
Due to the pandemic more than 100 million people around the world have fallen into extreme poverty with around 255 million jobs lost in 2020.

United Nations' Actions To Fight Drug Abuse

In 1946 the first action was taken against the use of drug abuse by establishing the Commission on Narcotic Drugs by the Economic and Social Council resolution 9(1). The main purpose of the commission was to supervise the application of the international drug control treaties. Then in 1987 the resolution to mark June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was passed by the United Nations General Assembly.
The UNODC was established in 1997 to act as the office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division of the United Nations Office at Vienna. Some other plan of actions are following:

In 2009, a plan of action on International Cooperation was adopted by the United Nations member states to adopt an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem which includes targets for drug control.
The special session of USN General Assembly was held in 2016, in which the world drug problem was assessed which resulted in 100 operational recommendations in seven thematic chapters.

Initiatives Against Drug Abuse In India

Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan

The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan or Drugs-Free India Campaign was initiated on 15th August 2020 (Independence Day) across 272 districts of the country which were found to be most vulnerable and affected by drug abuse. Its objective is to make India a drug free country by positive partnerships with educational institutions, community awareness programmes for mass education and sanitization and integration of TRC i.e. Treatment, Rehabilitation and Counselling facilities.

National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction

The National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025 is adopted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. It is implemented to:

Reduce the adverse consequences of Drug Abuse by education and arrangement of rehabilitation of people affected by addiction.
It is aimed at the collective efforts of Central and State Governments and Non-governmental organisations to provide preventive education, identification, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug-dependent persons and training and capacity building of the service provider.
Government also provides financial assistance under NAPDDR. There are more than 500 voluntary organisations across the country, which currently are assisted financially under the NAPDDR scheme.

Points To Remember On Drug Abuse

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was held in 1961.
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances was held in 1971.
The UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was held in 1988.
India is a signatory to all three conventions and has enacted the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.